The Microsoft Band 2 continues to get better. Introduced in October 2015, Microsoft has steadily been adding new software features to it. The latest addition is support for Cortana when the wearable is paired to an Android smartphone. This feature had previously been limited to Windows Phone devices. With Cortana on your Band, you can access your personal assistant for instant notifications […]
Microsoft
Microsoft adds watch face to Android Wear Outlook app
Microsoft launched its Outlook app for Android Wear back in April. It allowed users to read and reply to emails with pre-set messages or voice-dictated responses without ever having to reach for their smartphone. The latest update, version 2.1.24, has added an Outlook watch face that makes it even easier to see upcoming events and the latest emails. Today, we are […]
Microsoft Outlook lands on Android Wear smartwatches
The latest version of the Android version of Microsoft Outlook comes with a new feature that smartwatch users may appreciate. The email app has been updated to include a dedicated Android Wear client. The update, which bumps the version number to 2.1.0, will deliver Outlook notifications right to your wrist. It will also allow you to read your emails and reply to them either with a pre-set message […]
Concept Sunday: Microsoft Surface Watch
The closest Microsoft has come to a smartwatch in recent years is the Nokia Moonraker project that it cancelled after acquiring Nokia’s device business in 2014. While rumours of a Microsoft smartwatch surface every once in a while, the company has instead focused on its Band and Band 2 fitness bands. What if it decided to broaden its wearables portfolio with […]
Olio Devices and Microsoft announce patent licensing agreement
Olio Devices, the company behind the Olio Model One smartwatch, and Microsoft yesterday announced a patent licensing agreement. The terse announcement explains that it covers wearable devices but provides no specific details. Nick Psyhogeos, president of Microsoft Technology Licensing, said, “Mutually beneficial and collaborative patent licensing agreements like this one promote innovation and lead to better products and experiences for consumers.” With few details […]
Cancelled Nokia Moonraker smartwatch gets pictured
Nokia almost got into the smartwatch game a few years back. Its plans to do so were derailed by its decision to sell its devices business to Microsoft in 2014. Focused at the time on developing its own Band fitness tracker, Microsoft cancelled the Nokia Moonraker smartwatch project. Renders of what Nokia’s smartwatch surfaced last summer courtesy of a Microsoft employee. Now photographs […]
Microsoft patents smart ring capable of controlling smartphones
Microsoft entered the wearables space with the Band and its recent successor the Band 2. It’s unlikely that its ambitions stop there and a recently discovered patent submitted to the USPTO (United States Patent Office) back in 2014. It suggests that the company has been working on a smart ring that would control other mobile devices through gestures and other actions […]
Microsoft Band 2 unveiled
As expected, Microsoft today unveiled a range of new products including its latest wearable. Sharing the stage with the Surface Book, MIcrosoft’s first ever notebook, the new Surface Pro 4 tablet and the new Lumia 550, Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL smartphones was the Microsoft Band 2. As rumours suggested, the Band 2 improves on its predecessor with a […]